Old Tale, New Freedom
by TeamIris-GoROFLcopters
Summary: A clean, cute and simple Freylin romance. No slash. One-shot. Minor spoilers. MAGIC! Give it a go!


**Hey, everyone! This is some simple, cute, Freylin romance! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Yes, I own Merlin. Totally. *pinches self* Oh wait, just woke up. Nope, still don't own anything.**

**Warnings: Spoilers, violins and cuteness (and yes, that violins the instrument, not misspelt violence) **

Old Tale, New Freedom

Freya was breathless. She looked at the grinning boy in the bright red scarf, her Merlin, in utter astonishment. Her gaze flicked between him and the woven leather bracelet he'd just given her. It was made of three strips of simple, elegant brown leather, plaited together with a tiny, silver teardrop-shaped charm hanging from it. To a lord or a lady, such a thing was worthless. But to Freya, it had meant the world to her, from the moment he spoke those wonderful words. _He's lying to you Freya… He's just like the rest, a cheat a liar, it's just a cruel trick… _That snide voice, that well-developed caution of hers whispered in her mind. But, for once she ignored it. She liked Merlin, loved Merlin, trusted Merlin. And as crazy, as inconceivable, as strange those words sounded, she believed in them like her sanity depended on it.

"The bracelet will protect you, Freya. I've enchanted it so that, as long as you wear it, you will not transform."

She realised that her mouth was hanging open and he gave a little chuckle as she quickly snapped it shut. She had seen his power and compassion first hand, but this…

She couldn't contain herself a moment longer. She hugged him – well, to be fair, tackled him – to the ground. With her arms around his neck and her lips on his, she didn't have to say a word to show how grateful she was. For a full ten seconds, the world froze like that and everything was perfect – the weak, fluttery light, the thick, musty air, the hard walls and the dusty, sneezy, sandy floor. The uncomfortable little passage that had become her sanctuary, that was so dark and humid and downright unpleasant that not even the most adventurous child went down there – yes, even that was perfect.

Then, he pulled away with a short chuckle. "I should bring you jewellery more often." he joked. Then he scooped up his torch with that funny grin. Freya felt her heart sink to her pelvis.

"You're leaving already?" she asked, only feeling a little bad for not bothering to hide her disappointment.

"Nope. I want to celebrate your first night of freedom. Come on." he held out a hand and she took it, more than a little curious. Silent as rats in Arthur's chambers, they slipped through the streets of Camelot. There was a heart-stopping moment when the guards marched straight toward where they hid in the shadows. Freya let out a whimper of fear as she saw that Halig was with them. The bounty hunter's eyes slid constantly from left to right as he sought out his prize. Merlin gave her hand a comforting squeeze and a glint in his eyes seemed to say, _You'll enjoy this. _In the dark, his eyes flashed gold and across the street a door creaked open. Halig, ever suspicious, slowly walked up to it, drawing his daggers, stalking his prey…

And then the door flipped back and smacked him in the face.

Freya had to cover her mouth to stop the laughter escaping her at the utterly stupefied look on the bounty hunters face. Frowning slightly, he prodded the door hesitantly with his blade. WHACK, WHACK! The door hit him in the face twice more. Freya saw that the guards were having a hard time hiding their smiles too. Halig's face was contorted with rage as the door smartly clicked shut. He tugged at it – it was locked. He pounded and pounded and soon the guards were gathered around staring and trying to open the door too. With them distracted, Merlin and Freya slipped away, heading for the citadel.

"Won't whoever lives there be in trouble?" asked Freya, slightly concerned.

"Nope, no-one lived there in years!" chuckled Merlin in response.

Quickly, Merlin led her over the edge of the drawbridge and around the castle. Soon they came to the outside of the western tower. There was a rope with a metal bar attached.

"Hold on tight" Freya was quick to obey. He grasped the other side of the bar. His eyes flashed gold and he jerked his free hand back. The sandbag at the top of the tower obediently fell, and the two passenger slipped quickly up the side of the tower. Halfway up, Freya's grip slipped, but she barely had time to scream. Merlin had a secure arm around her waist in a heartbeat, and was still holding on. She clung to him – he was way better than that bar.

Finally, they came to the top. Freya's smile grew wider as she saw a neat plate of strawberries waiting for them. Merlin however, ignore the strawberries. He took her hands and slowly started to dance – yes on the roof of the tower. His azure eyes flashed one more time and music started. Behind him, Freya was amazed to see a fiddle, just floating in mid-air, playing itself. And everything was that much more perfect.

Then the midnight bell rang.

Instinctively, she jerked away from him and backed away. There was no way down. She could fly… quickly she darted as far away from Merlin as possible. He couldn't be hurt. _Oh, but he will be. Nothing you do will make a difference. _The snide little voice of caution was bitter and scared. She almost screamed when something gently grabbed her arm. It was Merlin smiling at her gently.

And nothing was happening.

The silver teardrop was shimmering every so slightly. It worked. The two didn't have to say a thing. They just continued their dance, neither really knowing how, both just… content.

_Maybe, _said the voice. _Maybe, things could stay perfect._

**The End! Romance isn't my forte. Hope you enjoyed reading anyway! I sure enjoyed writing it. Merlin and Freya deserve to be happy…**

**R&R please!**


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